This hearty Winter Warmer Stew is the perfect thing to come home to on a dark and dreary evening. Ideal as a baby food for your weaning tot, it's a great stew recipe to enjoy on a cold day and the kids will love it.

Prepare at the weekend and keep on hand for a delicious meal any time of the day. Just add rice or mashed potato and you're sorted. It is also great for batch-cooking so make sure to double up the recipe and freeze in portions.

There is little or no work involved in cooking this tasty stew so don’t be put off by the cooking time, sit back and relax while it takes care of itself!

Cook time: 4 hoursMakes: 5-6 Adult portions

Ingredients

Olive oil

1 onion, peeled and chopped

800g lamb pieces, cut into 5cm pieces

2 parsnips, peeled and quartered

4 carrots, peeled and halved

½ butternut squash, halved, deseeded and roughly diced

4 celery stalks, chopped or leeks

2 tablespoons tomato purée

1 Tin chopped tomatoes

500ml vegetable stock

1 handful each of rosemary, thyme and parsley

2 bay leaves, snapped in half

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

Method

Preheat your oven to 160°C.

Heat a casserole pan with some olive oil.

Add the onion and garlic, fry for 3/4 minutes.

Add the meat to the pan and seal before adding the vegetables, tomatoes, purée and stock. Gently stir together.

Add in the herbs, bring to the boil, place a lid on top, cook in the preheated oven for roughly 4 hours, until the meat is tender.